Question on finding a bond mate? - thinking about adding a rabbit....

[user 31452]

I have two rabbits now aprox 5 mo old and setting up their appts for spay and neuter. They live separate now and the males is destined to be a house bun for me which he basically is now (my daughter will be taking the female, she has remained in an area far away from the male) The male is always heading over to the females pen and lays next to her, they sniff and are very amicable thru the gates - no nipping, both seem relaxed. It seems like he would love a companion once she goes (and after he has satisified the "waiting period". Once thats all happened and he starts "dating" , can I introduce 2 buns on a date with him together (all 3? and see if two seem to take to each other?) IF so, can one be a male or 2 females? If it IS ONLY ONE at a time (per day?) per week? , can I do it one immediately following another? How soon after? Can some one give me the scenario of how to go about introducing a few different choices to him.

 

[zuppa]

Hi, in my experience if your plan is to have a bonded trio and your buns are still very separated from each other I would start bonding with all three at once, because if you have two already bonded the third can break it and they rethink their relationship anyways so in my opinion if they are all new to each other they won't have that pain of broken relationship.

It can be two females and one male, I've heard that was recommended since was stated that males can fight over the female, even neutered. But I have a bonded trio of two males and one female, all neutered and they are brilliant, males are very friendly to each other and never fight. So it really depends on your rabbits, they are all different.

I wouldn't let your current male and female to meet even through the gates before all neutering +2 months after, it is best to introduce them all at once and as completely new rabbits, also territory where you are going to do bonding sessions is very important it must be new territory for all of them so no one tries to protect their turf from the invaders.

 

[user 31452]

Thank you for your suggestions . I know my post was a little confusing , the female I have now is going to my daughter .... I won’t be introducing them any closer than they get right now . It just seems as though my male would do well to have a mate or two .

 

[Catlyn]

Usually just a pair will work good enough, making the bond a trio can become a bit vexing and confusing. In usa you can probably reach out to a rabbit rescue or houserabbit society and they might be able to bond some bun to yours for you if your bun feels like he wants to and when some month or two has passed from his neuter. We don't have it here so other fellow members from usa or uk can tell you more about it. Good luck!

 

[Blue eyes]

^ actually it is in the UK that rescues offer bonding. In the US, it is very rare for a rescue to bond someone's rabbit to one of theirs.

But @Catlyn is correct that the ideal bonding for rabbits is a pair. More than a pair can be problematic and is prone to upsets down the road.

The following link is an excellent resource about bonding rabbits:
http://cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information/bonding-bunnies/
If you would like an actual bondmate for your male, the process can be complicated when there is already another rabbit in the house. Just having a third rabbit in the home when trying to bond two can cause complications. By way of example, if someone has an established bonded pair, the mere presence of a 3rd rabbit can cause a breakup of the original bond.

If your daughter is older and preparing to move out sometime with the female rabbit, then it would be good to wait until the current female rabbit is no longer in the home before trying to find a bondmate for the male.

If your daughter is younger and you were planning to have all 3 rabbits in the home, then ideally, that current female rabbit should be somewhere totally separate from where the other 2 will be. If either of the two potential bondmates can smell the presence of the current female, that could cause issues in the bonding process. So, in this case, it would be recommended to move the current female somewhere out of sight and smell of where the male (and his future bondmate) will be.

 

[user 31452]

I will definitely check out that link - thanks ! I plan to wait for my daughter to take the female. I am getting both buns neutered in another month or so - and them she will take the girl with . I wish there were places here that do bonding like they do in the UK .... but I will reach out to some rescues . Thanks